Agreed 100%. And I love how with Freckles it's not just "yes I'm in love with Christa" (which we already knew) but rather "yes, I am, in fact, a lesbian." Which is a step that a LOT of shounen manga aren't willing to take, even the shounen manga that relentlessly tease potential yuri romance. With most shounen manga, when a female character is attracted to another female character, it never goes beyond the bounds of being attracted to THIS SPECIFIC female character. Which allows for otaku-pandering yuri fanservice without ever destroying the fantasy that said female characters *might* still be bisexual and *might* someday be willing to make some shy male manga-reading nerd's fantasies come true. (Soul Eater Not!, I am side-eyeing you SO HARD right now.) It's very rare to see a female character in a shounen manga actually identify as a lesbian and go as far as to agree with another character's statement that she's not attracted to men. And yet. Freckles did JUST THAT in this month's chapter. And that is AWESOME.
I also love that entire scene between Freckles and Reiner because it reveals so much about Reiner's character but in a very, very subtle way. (Which Isayama is very good at doing with a lot of his character interactions, actually.) We know that Reiner suspects Freckles of SOMETHING, but instead of confronting her or accusing her of anything, he instead tries to establish rapport with her and earn her trust. Which is probably the only reason that he even mentions his sexuality to her in the first place. And also the reason why he provides her with an excuse for her behavior with Connie - oh hey, it's okay, you were just trying to get his mind off the subject - and even tells her to keep it up, even though it's pretty clear that she and he both know that's not what's really going on at all. It's a really great character moment that speaks volumes about Reiner's personality, even though he's gotten so little character development compared to some of the other rookies so far.
Have I mentioned that I really, really love this manga yet?
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I also love that entire scene between Freckles and Reiner because it reveals so much about Reiner's character but in a very, very subtle way. (Which Isayama is very good at doing with a lot of his character interactions, actually.) We know that Reiner suspects Freckles of SOMETHING, but instead of confronting her or accusing her of anything, he instead tries to establish rapport with her and earn her trust. Which is probably the only reason that he even mentions his sexuality to her in the first place. And also the reason why he provides her with an excuse for her behavior with Connie - oh hey, it's okay, you were just trying to get his mind off the subject - and even tells her to keep it up, even though it's pretty clear that she and he both know that's not what's really going on at all. It's a really great character moment that speaks volumes about Reiner's personality, even though he's gotten so little character development compared to some of the other rookies so far.
Have I mentioned that I really, really love this manga yet?